27 April 2020 - What's new
27 April 2020
- ‘I often write everything all at once. Memory isn't linear for me, nor is experience, but I try to keep it as straight as I can. A sense of fluidity and shift, and that energy, that is about change. It's really integral to my work, which is not about the past becoming a stable object. The past very rarely settles down. It shifts under our gaze all the time...' Anne Enright, author of just-published Actress, Booker Prize-winning A Gathering, The Green Road, The Forgotten Waltz and three other novels in the Bookseller. Our Comment.
- WritersServices can provide a range of services working on your manuscript, to help you get it ready for submission or self-publishing. We are UK-based, offer exceptional value and our skilled professional editors have been working on writers' manuscripts for us for 19 years. We have recently introduced free samples and free assessments on most of these services, please see the individual service page. Copy editing services.
- Closing on 31 August, The Kindle Storyteller Award 2020 is open to writers publishing in English in any genre, who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing. No entry fee. The Prize is £20,000. You need to read their terms and conditions carefully.
- Other competitions which are still open.
- Why has my manuscript been rejected? It is demoralising to get your manuscript rejected by publishers or agents. Here are some of the reasons why this happens and suggestions of what you can do about it. Rejection.
- Our links: is this heresy? Letter to the Editor: Why These Agents Argue Books Aren't Essential; Mike Shatzkin casts a clear eye on the basics, The supply chain for book publishing is being changed by Coronavirus too | The Idea Logical Company; given all the disruptions to the global economy caused by the new coronavirus, unit sales of print books held up relatively well in the first quarter of 2020, The Pandemic Is Changing Book-Buying Patterns; and the situation is critical in South Africa, ‘SA could lose its book industry.' Top authors urge Ramaphosa to allow trade.
- Writers' stories - they're just a bit of fun, but in a rare moment of inspiration we wrote some fictionalised stories of how the services could turn out, to give you a better idea of how they might work for you. Joe's fantasy novel benefited from some professional editing, when he signed up for an Editor's Report Plus. Tony needed Copy editing to get his manuscript into shape for publication or self-publishing.
- More links: a complete, essential guide from the wonderful Jane Friedman, How to Start Blogging: A Definitive Guide for Authors | Jane Friedman; some authors have really bad luck - My first novel bombed spectacularly. This was about 20 years ago, Two Novels, Two Global Catastrophes, Two Decades Apart | Literary Hub; Nicola Upson on how to get started on a new project, How to start writing crime fiction - National Centre for Writing; and crime writers in residence, Waines, Veitch Smith and Watt headline virtual National Crime Reading Month | The Bookseller.
- Our page of Picture library links provides a good starting-point for finding an image for your book, whether it's for the cover or inside. Gograph was added a while ago with its 18 million stock links.
- A few more links: coming down the track - "truly authentic ... prestige adaptations", Terry Pratchett novels to get 'absolutely faithful' TV adaptations | Books | The Guardian; a writer's life-long obsession with Florence Nightingale, Revisiting Florence; Rights are invariably seen to be the poor relation, but showing their value at the moment, Richard Charkin: Let's Hear It for Book Rights Sales People Worldwide; and what are we looking for? Why Are We Obsessed With Writers' Houses? | Literary Hub.
- Do you want some help with your writing but don't know quite what you want? Choosing a service can help you work out which service is right for you, or you could just email us.
- Finally, Anita Diamant in our Writers' Quotes: 'I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection letters. And only write what you love.'